Who knows the spirit of the sons of man, whether it goes upward; and the spirit of the beast, whether it goes downward to the earth? (Green's Literal Translation.)
The interesting thing about this passage is that the Hebrews seemed to have believed that all human spirits went to a subterranean land of shadows called Sheol:
Then said Saul unto his servants: 'Seek me a woman that divineth by a ghost, that I may go to her, and inquire of her.' And his servants said to him: 'Behold, there is a woman that divineth by a ghost at En-dor.' And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said: 'Divine unto me, I pray thee, by a ghost, and bring me up whomsoever I shall name unto thee.' And the woman said unto him: 'Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that divine by a ghost or a familiar spirit out of the land; wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?' And Saul swore to her by the LORD, saying: 'As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.' Then said the woman: 'Whom shall I bring up unto thee?' And he said: 'Bring me up Samuel.' And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying: 'Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.' And the king said unto her: 'Be not afraid; for what seest thou?' And the woman said unto Saul: 'I see a godlike being coming up out of the earth.' And he said unto her: 'What form is he of?' And she said: 'An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a robe.' And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and prostrated himself. And Samuel said to Saul: 'Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up?' And Saul answered: 'I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams; therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.' And Samuel said: 'Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine adversary? And the LORD hath wrought for Himself; as He spoke by me; and the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thy hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David. Because thou didst not hearken to the voice of the LORD, and didst not execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover the LORD will deliver Israel also with thee into the hand of the Philistines; and to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me; the LORD will deliver the host of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.' ( 1 Sam. 28:7-19, Jewish Publication Society Translation. )
The nether-world ( Heb. "Sheol" ) from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; the shades are stirred up for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; all the kings of the nations are raised up from their thrones. ( Isaiah 14:9, JPS. )
The Hebrews also seemed to have conceived of animals as going to the same place:
As sheep for Sheol they have set themselves ( Psalm 49:14. )
The book of Ecclesiastes was written before Isaiah spoke of death being swollowed up in victory, before Ezekiel saw his vision of a valley dry bones, and long before Christ "ascended on high," "led captivity captive," and "gave gifts to men" ( Eph. 4:8 .)
Solomon was speaking as a Jew of this time period (with little more than the Torah and his own reason from which to draw any conclusions about the afterlife) when he asked:
Who knows the spirit of the sons of man, whether it goes upward; and the spirit of the beast, whether it goes downward to the earth? ( Eccl 3:21. )
All that the thoughtful Jewish observer could really know at the time was that the dust returns to the earth, and the spirit returns to G-d ( Eccl. 12:7 ), and this was true whether the human spirit went domn to Sheol, or up to heaven:
If I go up to Heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there ( Psalm 139:8. )
And it was also true of man and beast:
Thou gatherest their spirit -- they expire ( Psalm 104:29. )
The real key to understanding Eccl. 3:21 may be in the context of the book itself, and the cultural context in which it was written.
The context of Ecclesiastes concerns what can be known philosophically, from deduction and reason (Eccl.1:12-13,16-17) , and as Solomon had many foreign wives (including an Egyptian and a Hittite--1 Kings 3:1; 1 Kings 11:1), and was sought out for his wisdom by visitors from all over the known world (1 Kings 4:34; 1 Kings 10:24) , he would have been familiar with all the views of the afterlife then current.
At the time of Solomon, the people of Persia and Northern India believed that the spirits of their blessed dead traveled “through the pathway of the cremation fire to the highest heaven of eternal light,” while those deemed unworthy were believed to "sink into underground darkness.”
Indian Society and Thought before and at the Time of Buddha.
Hittite beliefs regarding the afterlife are attested to in the words of their ritual for a deceased king:
You have summoned me to the spirits of the dead. I have presented myself to you, O sun god of heaven, my lord. Now admit me to my divine destiny among the gods of heaven, and release me from the midst of the spirits of the dead.
(“Death and the Afterlife in Hittite Thought,” Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, ed. Jack M. Sasson, 3.2023.)
The Egyptians had similar beliefs.
The king ascends to the sky among the gods dwelling in the sky. He stands on the great [dais], he hears (in judicial session) the (legal) affairs of men. Re finds thee upon the shores of the sky in this lake that is in Nut (the Sky-goddess). 'The arriver comes !' say the gods. He (Re) gives thee his arm on the stairway to the sky. 'He who knows his place comes,' say the gods. 0 Pure One, assume thy throne in the barque of Re and sail thou the sky. . . . Sail thou with the Imperishable Stars, sail thou with the Unwearied Stars. Receive thou the tribute' of the Evening Barque, become thou a spirit dwelling in Dewat. Live thou this pleasant life which the lord of the horizon lives (Pyr. 1169-72)
http://mircea-eliade.com/from-primitives-to-zen/166.html
It was within this cultural context that Solomon asked:
Who knows the spirit of the sons of man, whether it goes upward; and the spirit of the beast, whether it goes downward to the earth?
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